Google gun emoji becomes water pistol

Google is to replace the gun emoji with a water pistol on its Android operating system, bringing it in line with Apple, Samsung and Twitter. Around the time Apple switched to a colourful water gun, Microsoft changed its pistol emoji from a cartoon-like space gun to a more realistic-looking weapon. While the emoji standard describes what each symbol should look like, companies are free to use their own designs. WhatsApp replaced the gun with a water pistol in 2017, while Samsung and Twitter followed suit in 2018. Microsoft has not indicated whether it will change its gun emoji.